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Many industries today are moving in one of two directions: They’re either splintering into ecosystems made up of many small, niche players or consolidating around just a few large corporations, according to John Hagel and John Seely Brown, co-chairs of Deloitte LLP’s Center for the Edge. This dynamic is dramatically changing the way companies operate and compete, and large organizations in particular will have to adjust their growth strategies as a result.

Traditional office-centric and campus working models support collaboration and creativity, but offer little employee flexibility. Conversely, virtual models offer flexibility and other benefits, but can erode company culture. This Deloitte University Press video examines the potential and viability of a hybrid working model that encompasses the strengths of each.

Young consumers weaned on 24/7 connectivity and convenience have very different expectations of automobile technology and ownership, according to findings from Deloitte’s 2014 Global Automotive Consumer Study. These and other generational shifts in consumer opinion are challenging automotive companies to engage potential customers in new ways.

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The latest FCC auction of broadband spectrum is putting federal CIOs in the spotlight as agencies must soon vacate frequencies currently in use without interrupting their agencies’ missions. Beyond its complexity and cost, this formidable task offers those forward-thinking CIOs who plan carefully an all-too-rare opportunity to upgrade systems and transform their IT organizations.

Findings from a new study of eDiscovery practices in government reveal a confluence of factors continues to undermine stakeholder confidence in federal eDiscovery systems and processes. By taking steps to foster more effective intra-agency communication, federal CIOs may be able to mitigate some chronic eDiscovery challenges.

By 2020, ongoing technological, societal, and economic trends will have fundamentally reshaped the way governments provides services. An in-depth study by Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Federal Practice offers a preview of myriad possibilities awaiting the public sector and the citizenry it serves.

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Deloitte Insights for CIOs couples broad business insights with deep technical knowledge to help executives drive business and technology strategy, support business transformation, and enhance growth and productivity. Through fact-based research, technology perspectives and analyses, case studies and more, Deloitte Insights for CIOs informs the essential conversations in global, technology-led organizations.

Agent of Change

Federal CIOs can effect big change in a time of fiscal austerity, says the former CIO of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Upon joining the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as CIO in early 2002, Van Hitch faced the biggest challenge of his career. In the days following 9/11, he says, unanswered questions flew around the agency:

Who knew what and when?

Had someone overlooked critical information that could have prevented the attacks?

In time, it became evident that two culprits contributed at least in part to the agency’s shortcomings. Stovepipe architecture in DOJ’s information management systems and a culture that favored turf battles over collaboration made it impossible for information to be shared broadly among DOJ employees. Hitch, a former executive in the IT management and consulting sector, spent much of the next decade overhauling DOJ’s IT systems, processes, and work culture to make sure that critical information flowed efficiently within the department and, as needed, across the entire law enforcement community and other federal agencies.

“It was very difficult, but I see it now as one of my greatest professional achievements,” he says.

In his new role as specialist leader at Deloitte Consulting LLP, Hitch advises the next generation of federal CIOs who face a new set of challenges. Hitch shared his thoughts on fiscal austerity, the issues agency CIOs currently face, and the tools and technologies that, he hopes, will redefine the way citizens interact with government.

What are the IT priorities of government agencies right now? What should they be?

In the context of government IT priorities, every era has its defining theme. Until recently, the theme was ‘more’—more mainframes, more boxes, more systems—more of everything. The defining theme of this era is cost efficiency, which makes the work ahead all the more challenging because most of the IT infrastructure at federal agencies is in some state of decline, and needs updating. Addressing that should be a priority. Yet, to do so, CIOs are going to have to get creative in terms of how they simultaneously achieve greater economy and effectiveness.

Political leaders want budget cuts. At the same time, citizens’ expectations of government and its IT systems grow higher each year. Given these competing demands, how should federal agency CIOs approach their jobs?

At Justice, I always viewed myself as a change agent. That was my job. A CIO should be the one who stimulates the discussion, and makes sure all alternatives are considered. A CIO should understand how to use technology to do things the right way—the efficient way. Today, CIOs should still be change agents. But the current fiscal environment requires them to focus on a few major changes, rather than a lot of smaller ones. To plan for the future, CIOs should identify the infrastructure and IT capabilities they want for their agencies in five years, and find ways to implement them. It won’t be easy, but it may be the only viable strategy they can embrace right now.

Cloud computing is making it possible for companies in the private sector to increase the number of services they offer while lowering overall IT costs. Could it deliver comparable value in the public sector? And what about security?

The cloud is a concept that has several different iterations—public, private and hybrid, among others. Many non-strategic systems could be pushed out to public cloud service providers without raising insurmountable security issues. Take email for instance. I want it to be reliable and secure, but must it run in my data center? No. The same is true for data storage. I don’t need to keep the actual hardware in the corner of my office. Both of these are commodity technologies that can be managed very effectively and economically through cloud service providers. However, more strategic technologies would likely require a different approach. For example, you wouldn’t want to support case management systems used by law enforcement agencies with public cloud services. In that situation, a private cloud—provisioned internally—that is department- or community-specific may be needed.

How might federal agencies use technology five years from now?

Mobile computing is expected to blossom and become an essential tool for workers at all levels of the federal government. Technology is going to be there, where and when they need it. Federal workers will likely have increased mobility and no longer be deskbound. Also, using mobile tools, citizens and constituencies can have increased access to more government data.

Are there untold IT success stories at federal agencies that would impress private sector CIOs?

Some very exciting things have happened in government over the last several years. At Justice, after 9/11 we made some significant breakthroughs in information sharing, retrieval, and analysis. We also made progress in IT security. Many hackers target government systems on a regular basis. I’m very proud of the results we had putting in place effective cyber security infrastructure, skills and tools. I feel confident that private sector CIOs would view our achievements in this area very positively.

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